Chaz Mostert is locked into the Sandown Finals round. Image: Supercars
Saturday’s opener was a story of contrasting fortunes for the two Walkinshaw Andretti United drivers as Mostert booked his Sandown ticket with an impressive win on the Surfer Paradise streets.
Wood, meanwhile, has been left on the brink of elimination after a sensational pole-winning qualifying effort – which he converted into an early race lead – was undone by an unusual fuel leak.
He did get back into the race to be classified 20th, however now faces a situation where his best chance of progressing is via the ‘win and you’re in’ system.
Given he’s booked his own ticket, Mostert is fully behind a Sunday effort that is focussed on keeping Wood’s season alive.
“The focus will be Woody, 100 percent for us,” said Mostert.
“He showed amazing speed [on Saturday] and we need to try and get him to Sandown.
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“I don’t know where the points are. Obviously you need to be in that top seven. If he can get a good result [today] he might jump a few guys.
“As we’ve seen [yesterday] it’s so tough around here. So there’s still a lot to play [today]. It’s not down and out for car #2, for sure.”
The obvious question, posed by Speedcafe, is whether Mostert is prepared to forfeit a race win for Wood if it would ensure he stays in the title fight.
Mostert’s response was carefully worded given the sensitivities around team tactics in finals.
“Look, it’s hard enough going 85 laps around here,” he said, tongue in cheek. “Accidentally locking a front tyre or having a bad exit is very easy…”
According to Supercars rules Mostert wouldn’t have to “accidentally” let Wood past should they find themselves sitting first and second.
While there is a team orders ban of sorts, it is more focused on third parties – ie manufacturers and sponsors – influencing outcomes rather than teams themselves.
That leaves WAU free to swap its own drivers around if needed.
Wood is one of two front-runners facing a must-win scenario with Brodie Kostecki’s hopes also hanging by a thread after he missed the race today due to a nasty qualifying crash.
His Shell Mustang was partially repaired off-site yesterday before the completion of an overnight rebuild back at the circuit.
Qualifying for today’s race kicks off at 10am local time.
